Brevard School Board Democrat Jenkins still considering run for U.S. Senate

Now that Rick Scott has clarified that he intends to run for reelection to his Senate seat and not for president, the question remains: Which Democrat will he face in 2024?

One potential candidate — Brevard County School Board member Jennifer Jenkins — says she is still pondering a run for the seat next year.

“I am very seriously considering entering the U.S. Senate race,” Jenkings told the Phoenix in a text message on Thursday. “I am humbled to be receiving a great deal of encouragement to do so.”

The 36-year-old Jenkins confirmed rumors to the Phoenix last month that she was considering entering the race.

Two Democrats are listed on the Florida Division of Elections website as having entered the Senate race — Rod Joseph, a U.S. Army veteran, and businessman Matt Boswell. On Thursday, Florida Politics reported that former Orlando-area U.S. Congressman Alan Grayson has filed to run for the seat as well.

Jenkins worked as a licensed speech language pathologist in the Brevard School District before running for school board in 2020. She ended up defeating the incumbent by more than nine percentage points.

Although Jenkins says she has not made a decision yet, she criticized Scott on Thursday for his stances on abortion (he has come out in support of the six-week ban on abortion signed by Ron DeSantis earlier this year), as well as his previous comments about reviewing Social Security and Medicare every five years, plus his stances on public education.

“He’s shown us who he is and we should believe him,” she said. “He doesn’t deserve reelection, and I believe the majority of Floridians agree with that, regardless of political party.”

That’s unclear at this time, as there’s been little public polling of Scott, in part because a major Democrat has yet to announce against him.

The New York Times reported Thursday that Scott was contemplating a run for president in 2024. Scott knocked down that story shortly afterwards, telling reporters, “What’s accurate is I’m running for Senate, I’m not running for president.”